Door-closing device and lock



Dec. 18 1923. 11,477,992

H. A. BENEDICT ET AL.

' DOOR CLOSING DEVICE ANDLOCK Filed March 8, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Dec. 118 1923, MZQFQQ H. A. BENEDICT ET AL.

DOOR CLOSING DEVICE AND LOCK Filed March 8, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 doors shut;

Patented Dec. 318, i923.

rarest @FFHQE.

HERSHEL BENEDICT, OF EAST ORANGE, AND EDVARD M. MOLLER, 0F JERSEY CITY,

. NEW JERSEY,

DOOR-CLOSING DEVICE AND LOCK.

, Application filed March 8, 1922. Serial No. 542,075.

Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERSHELY A. BENE- nior and EDVARD M. 'MoLLER, citizens of the United States, residing at East Orange and Jersey City, respectively, in the counties of Essex and Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and use-' ful Improvements in Door-Closing Devices and Locks; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will .enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates more particularly to a door closing device and lock as applied to vehicles, and is more especially designed for application to a motorvehicle or' bus.

The objects of the invention are to pro vide locking means for a door of a motor vehicle whereby the engine cannot be start ed until the door is closed; to provide a structure which enables the operator to readily close or open the doors when the gear controlling lever is at neutral to avoid rearrangement of any of the usual parts to the vehicle; to provide a structure which will .be out of the way, not easily tampered with, strong and efiicient; to secure s1mplicity of construction and operation, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following descrlption. I

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which likenumerals of reference ind1- cate similar parts throughout the several views. I

Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional View taken immediately beneath the roof of a motor vehicle or bus to which my inven tion has been applied. K

Figures 2 is a similar sectional view showing the-parts indifferent position with the Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a bus showing the invention therein and showing the doors shut; and

Figure 4 isa detail view of the locking cam and lever. d

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawings reference numeral 1 indicates in general the vehicle or bus which is preferably of the closezl type and equipped with a door 2. lhis door in the present illustration is a double or foldable door in order to-economize space, but obviously the door may be made in any manner desired without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. As shown, the door 2 issupported on its edge upon suitable notches or pintles, the upper pintle 3 being attached toa crank 4: s'wingin of which will open or close the door. is crank is. connected by means of a link 5 to a corresponding crank 6' on the upper end of a rotatable rod 7 convenient to the driver. The crank 6 and link 5 are arranged to obtain a toggle effect so when the door is closed the lever 6 and link 5 will pass through straight line position so as to prevent the door from swinging open until the operator positively operates it. Any suitable stop 8 may be provided to limit the distance to which the link and lever may swing past the straight line position. The rod is operated in any suitable manner. so as to have only rotary freedom, and is provided with handle 9 by means of which the same may be readily actuated b the operator. Likewise mounted upon r0 7 at any convenient position, such as at the bottom of the same is a control member 10 herein shown as substantially semi-circular and arranged in a plan transverse to the rod and securedthereto in any suitable manner so as to rotate therewith. Thismember is preferably provided with a semi-circular slot 11 within which a pin 12 on a lever 13 may pass as the member is rotated. It is to be noted that the lever 13 and member 10 are so positioned and arranged that when the door 2 is closed the pin 12 will no lon er be in the slot 11, but as soon as the r0 7 is rotated at all the pin 12 immediately enters the slot 11 and remains therein While the door is opened and until it is returned completely to its closed position. Obviously, unless the pin'12 registers with the slot, the door cannot be opened, and the means so far described'will therefore contitute a lock for the door except at the one heretofore mentioned position of the lever and pin.

The lever 13 is shown arranged in a plane parallel to the cam and extends toward the operator to the gear shifting lever 14. In the arrangement shown, the said lever 13 is provided with a slot 15 receiving said gear shifting lever 14 so that lateral tilting of said gear shift-ing lever 14 will swing said lever 13 from one side to the other. The lever 13 is fulcrumed at any convenient point such as 16 intermediate the ends of said lever. By the construction shown, and

- vthe arrangement set forth the gear shifting lever has to be brought to its neutral pos1- tion -in order to swing the lever 13 to a position where pin 12 will register with slot 11 in the cam. It will therefore be noted that it is a prerequisite to opening the'door that the gear shifting lever must be in neutral position, and conversely the gear shifting lever cannot be moved from its neutral position until the door is closed. Obviously detail changes and modificatlons may be 'made in the construction, ar-

- rangement and operation of our improved respect to its other axis and means asso-- ciated with thedoor adapted to look under predetermined conditions the operative control means.

2. In a motor vehicle having a door, the

combination of a control lever operatix e on two angularly disposed axes, means controlling the lever with respect to one axis, means operative to control the lever with respect to its other axis, and interlocking means associating said last mentioned control means with the door whereby the door is locked when said control means assumes a predetermined position.

3. In a motor vehicle having a door, the combination of a control lever operative on two angularly disposed axes, means controlling the lever with respect to one axis, means operative to control the lever with respect to. its other axis, and interlocking means associating said last mentioned control means with the door whereby the door is locked at a predetermined position of the control means and the control means is locked at a predetermined position of the door.

4. In a motor vehicle having a door and a control essential to the operation of the vehicle, a rotatable ,rod, toggle connection from said rod to said door whereby rotation of the rod in one direction will close the door and prevent the same from swinging open, and means associated with said rod and vehicle control for preventing rotation of said rod.

except when the control is at neutral position.

'5. In a motor vehicle having a door and a control essential to the operation of the vehicle, a rotatable rod, toggle connection from said rod to said door whereby rotation of the rod in one direction will close the door and prevent the same from swinging open, a control member fast with respect to said rod and having a semi-circular groove, a lever associated with said vehicle control a connecting member having a pin adapted to engage the edge of said cam and prevent rotation thereof except at one position of said control, said pin at said position of said control adapted to register with said groove and permit rotation of the control member and connecting member for opening the door and operating the vehicle.

6. In a motor vehicle having a door and a gear-shifting lever, a rotary shaft and levers operated thereby operative to open and close the door, and interlocking means between said gear-shifting lever and the rotary shaft comprising a semi-circular stop member secured to the shaft and provided with a semi-circular groove, a lever operated by and with the gearshifting lever, said lever having a lug adapted to operate radially of the stop member when the door is closed but to seat in said slot when the door is open.

7. In a motor vehicle having a door and a gear-shifting lever, a rotary shaft and levers operated thereby operative to open and close the door, and interlocking means between said gear-shifting lever and the rotar-y shaft comprising a semi-circular stop member secured to the shaft and provided with a semi-circular groove, a lever having a pivot intermediate its ends, one end of the lever having a slot to receive the gearshifting lever and the other end of the lever having a lug adapted to be operated radially of the stop member when the door is closed and to seat in the slot thereof when the door is open.

8. .A safety device for motor driven vehicles having a gear-shiftinglever and a door comprising in. combination, means for opening and closing the door and including a rotary part and toggle jointed levers; and interlocking means comprising a semi-circular stop member carried by the rotary part having asemi-circular slot and a radial abntment face, a lever pivoted intermediate its 1,e77,eo2 g3 ends and having'one end connected with the the stop member to permit of the rotation gear-shifting lever and its other end prothereof during which the movement of the vided with a lug, whereby the shifting of gear-shifting lever is prevented. 1 the gear-shifting lever operates to move said In testimony whereof we affix our signaifi3 lug radially of the abutment face of the tures.

stop member when the door is closed but HERSHEL A BENEDICT. which lug is adapted to seat in said slot in EDVARD M. MOLLER. 

